State Rep. Joshua Putnam said he intends to file an ethics complaint Wednesday claiming that Secretary of State Mark Hammond misused taxpayer money on television and radio ads to boost his name recognition.

Putnam, a Republican from Piedmont, is one of four candidates challenging Hammond, a Republican from Spartanburg, for the secretary of state's post.

Putnam said he will hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon in Columbia to release details about how Hammond's office spent more than twice as much money on the recently aired ads about charitable giving than in previous years. He said Hammond's office spent more than $80,000 on the recently aired ads compared to an average of about $35,000 in past years.

According to Putnam, these ads recently aired 8,671 times on TV stations in the state and 3,043 times on radio stations in the state. Similar ads aired 341 times on TV stations and 1,918 times on radio stations from November 2016 through January 2017, according to Putnam.

Putnam also said there was an effort to air the ads on Republican-leaning media outlets such as Fox News.

He said Hammond's strategy behind the ads was "obviously getting his name out there" in an election year.

Under the state's ethics laws, Putnam said, "you can't use government resources to promote your campaign and yourself."

The other candidates running for secretary of state include Republicans Nelson Faerber of Greenville and Kerry Wood of Inman and Democrat Melvin Whittenburg of Columbia.

In the 30-second spot that aired recently on TV stations, Hammond appears on screen for about 10 seconds.

"I want to encourage you to give to those in need," Hammond says at the start of the ad. At the end of ad, he says, "Remember, give from the heart but please give smart."

The rest of the ad explains how people can use the secretary of state's website to see how more than 13,000 charitable organizations are spending donations. The ad also mentions a new feature on the website where people can file confidential complaints about charitable solicitations.

Hammond said the increased spending on the ads was approved by the state Fiscal Accountability Authority. He said part of the extra money was used to tape a new version of the ad highlighting the website's feature for confidential complaints.

The increase in the number of ads that aired was accomplished through leveraging the larger budget, Hammond said. The ad-placements were handled by a firm in the state, he said.

Hammond said his office used fines from charities to pay for the ads. During the past four years, he said, his office has contributed to nearly $283,000 in fines from charities to the state's coffers.

He criticized Putnam for seeking to portray the ads as an ethics violation.

"I think it shows some desperation on his part," Hammond said Tuesday. "It looks like Mr. Putnam doesn't want to protect charitable donors."

Putnam discovered last year that Hammond's staff had failed to place the state seal on dozens of laws previously approved by the General Assembly. While noting that Hammond has a constitutional duty to put the state seal on all approved laws, the state Attorney General's Office issued a legal opinion in December saying that courts would probably uphold the validity of laws lacking the seal.

Hammond "tries to blame his mistakes on other people who shed light on them," said Putnam, an owner of a industrial maintenance company who has served in the state House of Representatives since 2011.

Follow Kirk Brown on Twitter @KirkBrown_AIM and email him at kirk.brown@independentmail.com